Just like radio, television broadcasting has come a long way in Singapore. There were plans to develop it as early as 1956, but they did not materialised until six years later.

It officially began in 1963 when Television Singapura was set up to offer an English-Malay Channel 5 and a Mandarin-Tamil Channel 8. A year later, advertisements were first telecast between programs as one of the alternate income sources for the subsidised station.

In 1965, the year of Singapore’s independence, the television station was able to screen the most defining moment of our nation as Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman announced the separation of Singapore and Malaysia.

Thousands in Singapore cramped into various community centres to watch former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on the national TV as he famously said with tears, “For me, it is a moment of anguish. All my life, my whole adult life, I have believed in merger and unity of the two territories.”

The new independent government of Singapore took control of both Television Singapura and Radio Singapura and combined them as Radio Television Singapura (RTS). A new station was built at Caldecott Hill at a cost of $3.6 million in 1966, and it has been the center of local media industry till today.

Another milestone was reached in 1974 when RTS started screening coloured telecasts; the 1974 World Cup Finals shown in live had attracted overwhelming responses.

In order to grant RTS with great autonomy so it could expand its operation and improve its efficiency, the parliament passed a bill to turn RTS into a statutory board. In 1980, the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) was born.

Several interesting children series were introduced in 1982 but the most memorable one was perhaps Little DD (小DD) which told a story of a robot and its friendship with six children.

Moving ahead, the eighties represented the golden era of local Chinese dramas. The first drama, Seletar Robbery (实里达大劫案) of 1982, was only made up of one episode. The 6-episode Army Series (新兵小传) launched in early 1983 left a deep impression to the local audience with its interesting plot about National Service (NS) life. The Flying Fish (小飞鱼) was introduced in August in conjunction with the National Day.

The Awakening (雾锁南洋) of 1984 was truly the first local blockbuster drama of Singapore. The storyline, which described the life of early Chinese immigrants, the resistance against Japanese Occupation and the difficulties of an independent Singapore, captured the imagination of countless Singaporeans. The drama and its sequels, as well as the soundtracks, became instant hits.

By the mid-to-late eighties, SBC was producing popular dramas with strong local flavours, such as Son of Pulau Tekong (亚答籽), The Coffee Shop (咖啡乌), Samsui Women (红头巾), Five Foot Way (五脚基), Teahouse in Chinatown (牛车水人家), The Last Applause (舞榭歌台) and Good Morning Sir! (早安老师).

Son of Pulau Tekong was the special one as it recorded the lifes of the natives and how they moved to mainland Singapore before the island was developed as a military base. NS personnel of yesteryear will not be unfamiliar with that transportation ship RPL (Ramp Powered Launch) which appears in the video below.

The various theme songs were also popular among the local viewers.

Local Chinese dramas reached its peak in the nineties with several blockbusters such as The Unbeatables (双天至尊), 1993, The Golden Pillow (金枕头), 1995, Tofu Street (豆腐街), 1996 and Stepping Out (出路), 1999. With the influence of foreign dramas from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea, the popularity of local dramas experienced a decline in the new millennium. The Little Nyonya (小娘惹) was one of the few recent ones that received rave reviews.

SBC went into privatisation in 1994 to become Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS). In a space of three years to 1997, TCS mass produced a total of 44 telemovies, where some of them such as Cupid Love (七月俏佳人), 1995, proved to be quite popular.

Among those who had watched SBC Channel 8 since its beginning, many would remember the various comedians that had ruled the mandarin channel. Each pair had their eras, with Wang Sha and Ye Feng (王沙, 野峰) being the earliest to humour the audience with their dialect jokes. Hua Liang and Zhao Jing (华亮, 兆锦) dominated the eighties while Jack Neo and Moses Lim helped sitcoms peak in the nineties.

Variety shows were also hugely popular on Channel 8, enjoying high viewership from Sharp Nite (声宝之夜) (1969-1981), Live from Studio One (缤纷83) (1983–1990), Perfect Match (金童玉女一线牵) (1985–1989), to the recent City Beat (城人新杂志) series.

Chen Shu Cheng (陈澍承), Zhou Ru Zhu (周如珠), Zhang Yong Quan (张永权), Wang Xiang Qing (王相钦) and Huang Yu Ling (黄毓玲) were the most popular hosts from the late eighties to early nineties. Chen Shu Cheng is an evergreen artiste who excels in both hosting and drama for decades.

Over to Channel 5, local English dramas were lagging behind their Mandarin counterparts as it was not until 1994 before the first drama, Masters of the Sea, was produced. Triple Nine followed but it was Growing Up that was the most popular among all, lasting a total of six seasons from 1996 to 2001.

Channel 5 was also the prime channel for then free-to-air English Division One and Italian Serie A football, and National Basketball Association (NBA) games. Delighted football and basketball fans were glued to their televisions, watching the likes of Ian Rush, Marco Van Basten and Magic Johnson.

When SBC began in 1984, it also launched Channel 12 catered for art and cultural program lovers. From the mid-nineties to the new millennium, the channel evolved into Malay channel Suria, Indian channel Vasantham and okto, the channel for global films, wildlife and arts documentaries.

When TCS was restructured to become MediaCorp TV in 2001, the Singapore Press Holdings joined in the media broadcasting industry with two free-to-air channels: Channel U and Channel i. However, the rivalry would last only three years as SPH MediaWorks merged with MediaCorp in 2004, a move that led to the cease of operation of Channel i.

MediaCorp will be moving to its new premise at one-north of Buona Vista in 2015, marking the end of its 50-year stay at Caldecott Hill.

Veteran Channel 8 actor Huang Wenyong has passed away at the age of 60.

Thanks for accompanying us, one whole generation of Singaporeans, in the past 30 years with your brilliant performances on TV. You’ll be missed. RIP 😦

BREAKING: Huang has just passed away in hospital earlier today on 20th April 2013. Huang was previously subject to a death hoax earlier in the month, claiming that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. There was public concern after Huang appeared visibly haggard during the 30th Anniversary Drama Show. He clarified that he had been suffering from stomach flu, and had not recovered fully due to a hectic schedule and irregular meal times.

Huang joined the SBC’s drama training class in the 1980s and has appeared in numerous dramas and sitcoms. He is perhaps best known by his own generation for his appearance in The Awakening in which he played love interest to Xiang Yun’s character and The Seletar Robbery during the 1980s. More recently, he is remembered for starring alongside Chew Chor Meng the long-running popular series Don’t Worry, Be Happy (1996-2002) and its spin-off Lobang King.

Huang was been nominated for the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes every single year in the annual Star Awards since its inception in 1994.

1985:
Tycoon 豪门内外
Growing Up 吾家有子
Son of Pulau Tekong 亚答籽
Takeover 人在旅途
The Coffee Shop 咖啡乌
Home is where Love is 吾爱吾家
Men From The Past 大侠吴三奇
Pursuit 怒海萍踪
The Happy Trio 青春123
The Unyielding Butterflies 铁蝴蝶
The Young Heroes 少年英雄

1989:
Good Morning, Sir!早安老师
A Long Way Home 燃烧岁月
A Mother’s Love 亲心唤我心
Magic of Dance 鼓舞青春
My Sweet Rival 摩登俏冤家
Patrol 铁警雄风
Return of the Prince 丝路迷城
Splash to Victory 绿水英姿
The Sword Rules 剑断江湖
Turn of the Tide 浮沉
Two Different Lives 金兰结
We are Family 四代同堂
My Daughters’ Three 芳华满一家

1997:
The Royal Monk 真命小和尚之无字天书(co-production/海外合拍)
The Choice Partner 错爱今生
Longing 悲情年代
The Price of Peace 和平的代价
Living by Night 都是夜归人
Immortal Love 不老的传说
From the Medical Files 医生档案
The Guest People 客家之歌
3-in-1 Love 爱情三合一
A Place to Call Home 薯条汉堡青春豆
Back to School 摩登状元
Crimes and Tribulations 狮城奇案录
Danger in Sight 迷离剧场
Dreams 七个梦
Mirror Of Life 2 实况剧场2
My Wife, Your Wife, Their Wives 101老婆
Not the Facts 迷离剧场
Playing to Win Uncle当自强
Rising Expectations 长河
Roses, Complete with Thorns 单身女郎
Starting Point 青春列车
Sword and Honour 铁血男儿
Tales of the City 2 都市奇情2
The Other Parent 妈妈先生
The Silver Lining 骤雨骄阳

1998:
My Little Angel我家小豆豆
Facing the Music 钢琴
Stand By Me 家人有约
My Teacher, Aiyoyo! 哎哟哟奇妙假期
Return of the Condor Heroes 神雕侠侣
Driven by a Car 欲望街车
The New Adventures of Wisely 卫斯理传奇
The Legends of the Eight Immortals 东游记
Act 235 刑事
Around People’s Park 珍珠街坊
Mind Games 危险人物
Living in Geylang 芽笼芽笼
Men at the Crossroads 四个好涩的男人
Myths and Legends of Singapore 石叻坡传说
Office Affairs 哈比旅行社
On the Edge – Mr Personality 边缘档案之 – 风度翩翩先生
Riding the Storm 陌生人
Season of Love 甜甜的季节
Singapore Short Stories 小说剧场
Taxi Driver 德士司机
The Royal Monk 2 真命小和尚之十二铜人(co-production/海外合拍)
A Piece of Sky 锁不住的天空
The Scam 豪门奇骗

I stumbled onto your site while searching for an old actor by the name of chen Yi, 陈亦。 seems no one I asked around can remember him. Will you by any chance know this tall and skinny actor. He should be in his 70-80s if still around.

SINGAPORE – Veteran actor S. Shamsuddin, who shot to fame for his comedic turns in Malay-language films in the 1950s and 1960s, has died in Singapore today at 10.56am. He was 84 years old, according to Bernama news agency. It is unclear what the cause of death was.

Born in Pasir Panjang, Shamsuddin reportedly stumbled into film-making when a studio visit led to an offer of a role as an extra. He went on to act in dozens of films, including alongside movie legend P. Ramlee, and was awarded a special award for Veteran Male Actor in the 2009 Malaysia Film Festival.